Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, recently reported its highest annual profit in decades. This impressive financial performance was largely driven by the increased sales of its diabetes and obesity drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy.
The company also spoke about its ongoing efforts to increase the supply of Wegovy in the U.S, which has suffered from consistent shortages. “By doubling the amount of lower-dose strengths, we can now enable more U.S. patients to initiate treatment,” said Doug Langa, executive vice president of Novo’s North America operations. In May of the previous year, Novo had to limit the starting doses for new patients to ensure continuing patients would have a sufficient supply.
Novo announced plans to incrementally enhance the supply throughout 2024. However, they also acknowledged that occasional supply constraints might occur. As of their recent report, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration listed semaglutide – the main ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy – on its shortage list.
Notably, both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have emerged as frontrunners in producing a class of appetite-suppressing drugs known as GLP-1 drugs. These compounds imitate a natural hormone that sends a satiety signal to the brain. High demand for these injectable drugs led to the FDA declaring a semaglutide shortage in March 2022.
Novo’s continued success is reflected in its 83.7 billion Danish-kroner annual profit in 2023, a 51 percent increase from the previous year, and equivalent to around $12 billion by current exchange rates. This is the company’s highest net profit since 1989. In 2023, Ozempic made up 41 percent of Novo’s total sales, equating to nearly $14 billion, two-thirds of which were from U.S. sales. Additionally, Wegovy sales amassed about $4.5 billion.
Novo’s chief executive, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, expressed satisfaction with the company’s 2023 performance, crediting the success to the fact that “more than 40 million people are now benefiting from our innovative diabetes and obesity treatments.”
